Shadow minister urges Chancellor to scrap national insurance increase

Jo Stevens, the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, has called on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to cancel a proposed rise in national insurance in his mini budget next week

Her comments come following the publication of report from the Trussell Trust which has highlighted the devastating impact the current cost of living crisis is having across the UK.

According to the charity’s research, one in six people who receive Universal Credit needed to visit a food bank at least once since the start of December.

Almost 2m people are going without food, while others reported they were living in cold conditions as they couldn’t afford to power and heat their homes.

One in three (33%) people receiving Universal Credit had more than one day in the last month where they didn’t eat at all or had only one meal, while one in three people (33%) surveyed have not been able to heat their home for more than four days across the last month because they couldn’t afford to.

The Trussell Trust is calling on UK government to urgently bring benefit levels in line with the rate of inflation as a bare minimum in next week’s Spring Statement to help prevent more people being forced into debt and to food banks.

‘Completely wrong’

“It is completely wrong that people are having to skip meals because they can’t afford to buy food. It is completely wrong that people have to turn off their heating because they cannot heat their homes, Ms Stevens the MP for Cardiff Central said.

“This is a Conservative cost of living crisis. A crisis made in Downing Street.

“In just a couple of weeks’ time, it’ll get worse because of national insurance rises and gas and electricity price hikes. The numbers on peoples’ payslips will go down and the numbers on their bills will go up.

“The Tory Chancellor could begin to undo the damage he’s done in his Spring mini budget next week by cancelling his national insurance rise for a start.”